St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-05-07
a LONELY ISLAND.
The Melancholy Isolation of list. Kilda
and Its People.

St. Kilda is nothing but lonely and
desolate prison, and its inhabitants re.
main in state of enforced and dreary
exile Cut off from all communication
with the outer world, except for their
two posts year, and a visit from an
occasional stray vessel, revolutions
may agitate the world, wars may rage,
general elections may be decided, and
the St. Kildans be unaware that any
thing important is going on. News
may travel to the most distant part of
the Queens dominions before it reaches
this corner of the British Isles. Things
are improving, however, even in st.
Kilda. Now that only eight or nine
months elapse at the longest between
the visits of the postman, the inhabit-
ants consider themselves tolerably
well posted up in news as compared
with the condition of things about fifty
years ago, when the minister kept
praying that his Majesty. King William.
might be granted health long to reign
over us, and be surrounded with wise
and trusty counselofs. three years after
-
So little is known of 81. kilda that
early last year it was thought that the
rocky island, which is only three miles
long and two broad, had been sub
merged or carried away like a huge
iceberg. by the waters of the Atlantic.
St. Kilda has been in trouble, but its
misfortune did not amount to complete
humiliation. Disastrous storms dis
tress the inhabitants. Although girt
round with rocks sometimes rising pre-
cipitously from the waves to the heighth
of two hundred feet. the wild tempest
nous ocean throws It's angry spray over
the high cliffs, ovcrsweeps the island
and destroys the crop, which the pco-
ple try to raise. Last autumn the
whole of the crop was destroyed by
one of these storms. With starvation
staring them in the face the distressed
inhabitants sent message after nessag"
adrift in the hope that some would be
found and assistance sent them. One
of these messages was picked up
toward the end of September. and
through Sir William Collins of Glas-
gov, and Principal Rainy relief ex-
pedition was fitted out and the food
was landed, though as the vessel AZ
rived on Sunday these simple folks de-
iclined to give a hand in dischar@ing
the cargo until Sunday had passed
The Captain of the vessel swore and
pointed out that a change of wind
would compel him to put to sea. go,
then, replied these stern people. The
minister said he could not guarantee
the continuance of fair weather, ''but
he trusted that the same Providence
which had put it into mems hearts to
send them corn and potatoes would
keep the wind steadyin the northeast"
And Providence was kind, for the wind
remained steady in the northeast.
The st. Kildans are seventyscycn in
number. They have decreased in num-
Der lately because of a singular NOR
talitv among the children, the maiorit, |
of whom die before they are many day |
old. This may be due to the system OF
intermarrying that goes on, or because
there is no doctor to combat with the
mysterious baby foe. There are only
one or sometimes two births IA year.
Rev. John Mackay, who ministers to
the spiritual wants OF tile people, tries
to do little incidentally, but his pre-
scriptions are confined, as 4 rule, to a
poultice and hot-water cloth. The
community includes schoolmaster.
There are about fifty cows and one
thousand sheep, which are common
property; but there are no horses, that
work being relocated to the
female St. Kildans. The minister's
watch keeps time for the whole island,
and, when informed by the men of the
Hcbridcan that his watch was two
hours fast, he chuckled over the fact
that he could thereby bring the con-
gregation together at nine instead of
eleven o. clock. while he only was aware
Of the pious fraud. The houses of the
people were tolerably good; Mcleod,
IF Mcleod. to whom this Improbable
piece of property belongs, having i'm
proved the buildings recently.
The great occupation Of she people is
catching sea-fowl. From March to
November the island is covered with
and catching these birds IS
she staple industry. Multitudes of solan
geese cover the rocks; there are
nyriads of gulls. northern divers.
stormy petrels. black, solemn cormo-
ants and simple guillemets, and
indeed. almost every kind of sea-bird
The difficult work of climbing about the
ocks catching the birds is engaged in
" both men and women. Enormous
numbers of fowls are sent off every
ear. Then great deal is made out of
Gathers. Referring to this subject,
Dr. NacCulloch, in his account of the
sland, says: The air is full of feathered
nimals, The sea is covered with them,
he houses are ornamented by them,
nd the inhabitants look as if they had
'een all tarred and feathered, for their
lair is full of feathers. and their
lothes are covered with feathers. The
women look like feathered Mercuries,
or their shoes are made Of gannet's
kin. Everything smells of feathers
I'LL Mail Gazette.
"A swallow built upon a house in
Iermany. The occupant caught the
lrd and attached to its wing a nose,